No Excuses
by i-love-svu
Summary: Julie and Ryan talk late one evening, and the next morning, Ryan has something else he'd like to say. JulieRyan
1. Call

**Disclaimer: I don't own The OC. **

**Author's Note: Lately I feel extremely 'shippy' toward these two and can't help it.

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The first time he even considered having a girlfriend, the woman he had in mind wasn't exactly someone he wanted to date. Ryan Atwood had kissed Taylor Townsend but only because she needed his help. And he was the kind of guy that if someone needed his help, he would be there to assist them. Kissing Taylor came with the territory of helping her and he knew that. But after their lips connected, he realized that he she was not someone he wanted to be with. He went along with it all, just to help her convince the French lawyer that they were dating; it was all a part of Taylor's plan to get her marriage annulled. Ryan didn't agree with the way she was going about doing so but if it was the only way to make her scheme work, he decided that he had to go along with it.

Later that night when Taylor showed up on the doorstep to his pool house, Ryan immediately saw that he had given her the wrong idea. He wasn't interested in a relationship with her, but he invited her in and was surprised to see that she had brought him something. A peach torte, she explained, going on and on about how she had only passed the torte-making classes in France. Ryan nodded but he didn't hear a word she said. His mind was focused on another woman; the woman he would've rather been spending his evening with. They ate the torte, chatting about random things until Taylor gave Ryan a hug and departed with a smile. Ryan closed the door behind and went to the nightstand to get his phone.

The phone was programmed into his mind now, his fingers dialing it without him guiding them. He pressed the phone to his ear, his face expressionless. It rang once, twice, three times. Ryan was getting ready to hang up when her calm voice answered.

"Hello?"

He swallowed, wanting his voice to sound clear. "Julie? It's Ryan."

Julie raised one brow as she heard Ryan's voice. Instantly, her mind filled with questions. Why was he calling her? What did he want? Didn't he realize how painful it was for her to hear him speaking? Her thoughts were interrupted as Ryan began talking again.

"Julie, are you there?"

The brunette blinked rapidly to flush the tears from her eyes. "Um, yes. I'm here."

Ryan heard the unusual emotion in her voice and he started feeling guilty. Had he known that she wasn't having a good day, what he assumed to be cause of the sensitive tone in her voice, he wouldn't have called. But now that he had her on the line, there wasn't any sense in hanging up.

"Julie, I think we should talk," Ryan stated firmly. "Are you busy right now?"

The brunette glanced around the room, sighing inwardly. She wanted an excuse; something that would prevent the two from talking, but there was nothing. "No," She closed her eyes and settled down onto the couch in her living room. "I'm not."

"Would you mind coming over?"

Her eyes opened immediately. "Why?"

Ryan pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it. Had he not stated why just a moment ago? "To talk, Julie."

They didn't need many words and had discovered that long ago. Coming from the same backgrounds, Julie Cooper and Ryan Atwood were more alike than they cared to admit.

"I'll be there in ten minutes." Julie pushed the "end call" button on her phone and sighed. She was not in the mood to see Ryan. So why had she agreed?


	2. The lie

Ryan put on a black t-shirt and his favorite pair of jeans. True, it was almost eleven o'clock at night and he found himself getting dressed. But he couldn't allow himself to be clothed in just a pair of boxers when he was expecting Julie to show up at any moment. A knock came from the door and he found himself muttering, "Speak of the devil…"

He did not dislike Julie Cooper, not in the least. He simply had to put that sort of image up so people did not know that he had feelings for Newport's biggest bitch. As he yanked the door open, Ryan saw a side of Julie that he had grown very accustomed to in the past few months.

Julie was standing there in a long black knitted coat, the ties hanging loosely at her sides. Her hair was pulled back into a slack ponytail with stray hairs framing her pale face. Ryan ushered her inside, her state devastating him. He thought she was okay; that she had moved on with Marissa's death. He had obviously been mistaken.

"Julie? What's wrong?" Ryan gestured for her to sit down on the edge of his bed. She did so without a word, and Ryan remained standing.

The brunette sighed, her shoulders trembling horribly. "It's been a rough day."

Ryan sat down next to her with a sigh of his own. "I know the feeling," He shared grimly.

"Is it always going to be like this?" Julie inquired, moving her gaze to look at Ryan. Christ, Ryan thought, even her eyes look bad.

He shook his head, not wanting to upset her anymore than she already was. "No. Things will get better."

Julie found his voice to be comforting. Neither knew what to say next and didn't want to start a conversation that could potentially sadden either of them. So they sat there in silence, just listening to the distant sounds of the ocean waves crashing against the rocks on the beach.

After a very long while of sitting there, Julie decided to talk. "Ryan? Why did you ask me to come here?"

The sandy blonde male looked over at the woman seated next to him. He contemplated his answer very thoroughly, making sure nothing he said would cause her anymore pain.

"Julie, I called you…"

She turned to face him, her eyes welling up with tears. She was closer to the edge than Ryan had previously assumed. And he seriously doubted that she could possibly handle anything else.

"…To ask you if you need help with anything. Need any furniture moved, anything like that?" Ryan lied and it must have been convincing because Julie instantly bought it.

"No, Ryan. That's what the gardeners and movers are for. Is that all?" Ryan nodded in reply. "Well, I appreciate the offer. If I need anything, I'll call."

Julie stood up and exited the pool house with an audible but attempted-muffled sob. Ryan felt like running after her and pulling her into his arms; he wanted to let her know that he cared. But he couldn't, not after seeing what a horrible day she had experienced. Instead, Ryan stood in the doorway of the pool house and watched her go. She stopped briefly in the kitchen to say goodbye to Kirsten, Ryan's adoptive mother. He knew the blond woman wouldn't let Julie leave the house in such a state and was proven right as he saw Kirsten wrap her arms around Julie in a comforting hug.

"_That should be me comforting her," _Ryan thought with a frown. He watched for just a moment longer and saw Kirsten helping Julie sit down at the table. Having lived four years with Kirsten, he knew exactly what would happen next; she would fix them both some tea and try to calm Julie down. Not that a situation like this happened very often, but it had occurred a bit more since Marissa's death.

Ryan closed the door and slowly made his way over to his bed. Lying down on top of the blankets, Ryan silently cursed himself for not revealing his true feelings to Julie. The woman had lost her daughter and now the man that had been with Marissa when she died wasn't even being true to her. With a sigh, Ryan closed his eyes and made another vow to himself.

If Julie was still there in the morning, he'd tell her then. No excuses.


	3. Truth and coffee

Julie awoke sometime around nine in the morning with a quiet groan. Her back ached horribly and her neck was stiff as she struggled to sit upright. Taking in her surroundings, Julie realized that she was in the Cohen's living room on their plush couch. She sighed heavily as she stood up and walked toward the kitchen. Inside the brightly lit room, the brunette blinked at the harsh sunlight. Once her eyes adjusted, Julie saw that she was not alone.

"Can we talk now?" Ryan asked from the refrigerator. He closed the door and looked at the woman standing a few feet away from him.

Julie yawned. "I thought we spoke last night."

Ryan gestured for her to sit down at the island and she did. Pulling a chair out and sitting down, Julie looked at Ryan. She hid her confusion with the expertise that came with years of hiding things, and he didn't suspect that she was onto him. Little did Ryan know that Julie Cooper was always aware of what was going on around her.

"I need to tell you something else." Ryan's voice was calm but his heart was pounding wildly in his chest. "If you have a moment."

Julie nodded, unable to say anything. Ryan had something else, something important, to tell her? Her mind flooded with possible scenarios as it usually did when she was in this sort of situation. When he spoke again, Julie realized that this was not the bad boy from Chino she had met four years earlier. The young boy she had once known was no longer a boy; he was now the very adult man sitting next to her, with his striking blue eyes and just-out-of-bed hair.

"Could we get together for coffee sometime?" Ryan blurted the first thing that came to mind.

The brunette, now showing a half smile, allowed herself nod once again. Coffee with Ryan wouldn't be so bad… right?

"Coffee would be fine," Julie smiled warmly. She stood up from the low backed chair and started to walk out of the room, when Ryan caught her arm.

"Are you sure?" He asked, his blue eyes sparking in with concern. His grip on her arm was just enough to keep her standing there, and he knew it.

Julie turned to look Ryan in the eye, her smile still in place. "Yes, Ryan, I'm sure. I'll see you tonight?"

Now reassured that Julie was fine with going out, it was Ryan's turn to nod. He left her arm slip through his grip, but clasped his hand around hers when she was almost an arms length away.

"See you at eight."

Ryan managed to tear himself away from her and walk out of the kitchen, out to the pool house. He was somewhat emotionally torn; he was going out for coffee with Julie, but she was Marissa's mom and that could possibly cause some bad reactions and maybe even some awkward situations. But if Julie was able to work past all that, if she wanted to, so would he.

"Ryan?" Julie's voice rang out from the kitchen door just as Ryan was walking into the pool house. "You're not going to wear a wife beater, are you?"

Ryan smiled, suddenly feeling supremely confident. "No. I'll wear something else." Julie grinned back and Ryan walked into his own mini-home. While the mixture of emotions swirled inside of him, his smile was still firmly in place.

"Everyone knows that wife beaters are for the second date," He replied so Julie could hear. He laughed to himself and settled down onto his bed to get a bit more sleep. Yes, he had what could be construed as a date with the mother of his dead ex-girlfriend. The way Ryan looked at it, he truly had feelings for this woman, and nothing could stop that. He either had to act on them or ignore them. Drinking coffee with Julie certainly seemed a lot easier than ignoring the fact that he did care for her. Only time, which was something they both had plenty of, would tell.

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**Thanks for reading!**


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